Word Count

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Word Count

With all of the stage directions in graphic novels, I'm wondering, how do you get an accurate word count without just plain counting up the words one by one? Mine is short but I can't imagine that's what writers do with longer works!

Re: Word Count

I don't think there's the same kind of focus on word count in GNs as there is in text novels. Or at least I've never heard of that in classes or workshops or read it online. Then again, I haven't published a GN, so hopefully someone that has will answer as well.

Re: Word Count

In my own recent in-depth research on GN's (I'm searching for an agent to work with that promotes YA and MG graphic novels for a couple of my own projects as writer/artist), I've been reading all over the place about submission requirements and what agents, if not publishers/editors, are interested in seeing...from initial query to proposals and what their submission requirements are.

In general, as far as word count AND art goes, I found the following via a post from Niki Smith on another forum:

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Agents want the script to be completed and polished, and with that they want at *least* one chapter of finished art. Most do not want/need the book to be completely drawn/colored/final, because it makes revisions much harder.

The Dark Horse submission requirements appear to be a good rule of thumb, even if you're submitting elsewhere (just don't forget to make sure your script and proposal meet the submission requirements of the publisher(s) you send the script to).http://www.darkhorse.com/Company/Submissions

In any case, I haven't found any other specification for word count other than *maybe* this...

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There’s a rule-of-thumb for dialogue writing you might want to try. Stan Lee used it, Alan Moore uses it. An average-sized panel can stand about twenty-eight words of dialogue. Try it for a while, before you go your own way; no more than twenty-eight words in each panel.